Scooby Wright Declares for 2016 NFL Draft: Latest Comments and Reaction

Following Arizona's 45-37 victory over New Mexico in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, Wildcats star linebacker Scooby Wright announced he will enter the 2016 NFL draft. 

Wright told ESPN's Laura Rutledge on the television broadcast he was going pro, per Rutledge's official Twitter account. 

Wright also provided a statement on Twitter:

Wright's father Philip provided a picture of Scooby signing with agent Drew Rosenhaus:

The Gildan New Mexico Bowl's official Twitter account provided a quote from Wright thanking the Arizona fans:

Wright has done nothing but make plays in three seasons at Arizona. He was named to the 2014 All-American team and won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors that same season after recording 164 total tackles and 31 tackles for loss.

Projecting Wright to the NFL, however, has raised some question marks for scouts. One scout told Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star the Wildcats standout junior looks like a third-round pick "at best."

“You’re talking about a guy who hasn’t played,” the scout told Lev. “We’ll have to look at the footage off a year ago."

The scout's biggest cause for concern is a foot injury Wright suffered in a Sept. 26 loss against UCLA that kept him out for nearly three months before he returned on Saturday. 

However, Wright's father, Phil, told Anthony Gimino of the Tuscon News Now people are saying his son could end up going higher than that. 

"We've been hearing from everybody that he's right now, as of today, before the bowl game, low first round, second round, possible third," Wright said to Gimino.

Until professional evaluators get to look at Wright's film and work with him in person, as well as medical experts can examine his foot, his draft positioning won't be known. 

Given the number of plays Wright showed he could make when at 100 percent—he looked healthy on Saturday with two sacks and when pressuring New Mexico quarterback Lamar Jordan, which forced a game-sealing interception—his stock figures to soar in the next four months.